Shawn and I were crazy-lucky that he got four months of paternity leave (thank you Mark Zuckerberg!). We truly had the best time being together, and although everyone from former colleagues to former middle school friends would comment on social posts that I was “winning” maternity leave, I decided not to write a specific post about that time because paternity leave is usually non-existent.
I took some great advice, Juliette is now a tiny bit older, and have really turned around how I feel about being at home. It’s helped me so much so I thought I would share the advice I received and has made being a SAHM my favorite job yet.
2. Stick to a Schedule
It was hard day after day waking up and thinking about what we would do that day. I put together a schedule thanks to a girlfriend’s advice, and it really really helped. Juliette has her first bottle at 7:30am, breakfast at 9:00am, a nap at 9:30, her next bottle at noon, and then we get out of the house no matter what. Knowing when I’m going to have time for me and when it’s time to schedule a play date or lunch is better for both of us.
3. Create a Turkey Sandwich Club
A few months ago a girlfriend invited us over for a play date with a few other moms and put out a casual array of everything needed to make a turkey sandwich. Fast-forward to now and almost every week someone offers to host a turkey sandwich meetup. Sometimes there’s wine and there’s always non-baby talk. Sometimes we also sit around watching the music video for Justin Bieber’s “Sorry“…
4. Find a Few Lunch Places You Know Are Super Baby-Friendly
Juliette and I love a nice lunch date, and we both love it more when the lunch place could care less that Juliette is fussy or that her stroller takes up a portion of the restaurant. The two I love in Park Slope are Dizzy’s and Burgers and Beer. I understand that not all restaurants are like this, and those are the places we go to when it’s adults-only.
5. Don’t Give Up On Happy Hour
We really can’t go out for dinner while Juliette sleeps peacefully in her stroller as we used to, but that really hasn’t stopped us from having an end-of-the-day cocktail. Friday’s feel more like they used to when we all “eat dinner as a family” and sit at our favorite pizza place from 5:30-6:15 before going home to put Juliette to sleep. Knowing that a “night out” is on the schedule makes the rest of the schedule a lot more fun.
